Curtain



July 4, 1933.

H. THORNE CURTAIN Filed June 25, 1952 fill/1621307 r5 @fim z Patented July 4, 1933 urrs srsrss release ores , HERBERT THOENE, OF BOSTGN, MASSACE-IUSETTS, ASSIGNQR TS MODERN CURTAIN CO.

INC., 013 BOSTON, MASEACHUSETTS, A CGBEQBATEON F IEASSACHUSETTS CURTAIN Application filed June 25, 1932. Serial No. 619,271.

This invention pertains'to window curtains, draperies, or the like and more particularly to an improved border construction for curtains or the like.

In the manufacture of window curtains it is customary to provide a border, for example, a rulfle, at the edge of the body material, and to set off the border from the body fabric, for instance, by the use of parallel sewed seams, the material between the seams being gathered or tucked to produce a distinctive band, and at the same time to conceal the actual junction of the border and body of the curtain, particularly when the border and body are'separate pieces of material; Most of the materials employed for curtains are thin, sheer, Or gauay, and the material is frequently ornamented with thickened spots as in marquisettes, and I find that when such materials, particularly those having spots, are gathered at the junction of the body fabric and the border, as above de scribed, an irregular, non-uniform, and unpleasing appearance frequently results, while the raw edges of the border and the body fabric are not always sulliciently concealed. In accordance with the present invention, and with the principal object of avoiding the above-noted defects in prior construction, I cover the junction between the border and body fabric with a narrow band, for example, tape, ribbon, or a narrow strip of any suitable material separate from the body fab ric and border, and I preferably'secure this band in place by the sewed. seams commonly provided at the junction of the body and border. Preferably this band is tucked, together with the border fabric, whereby to impart the desired rutlled effect to the border and at the same time to lay the covering band in regular tucks or pleats, thereby increasing its effective thicknesses a joint covering or concealing means, as well as its opacity, thereby setting); off the border from the body material in a very effective manner, If desired, the covering band may be of a contrastinp; color, although this is not essential. Conveniently this band maybe provided by feeding a narrow continuous strip of suitable material from a source of supply, so that it is delivered at the proper point to receive the needles which form the aforementioned parallel seams, and, if the edges of this strip are raw, they are turned in before sewing, for example by passing the strip through a sin able hemmer. Preferably an ed e of the boc y fabric and an edge of the boFder ma terial are also turned to form hems, the several hemming operations and the tucking being carried out in the proper order to produce the desired structure. Preferably the tucker comprises a pair of blades (or a sin gle blade having independently acting portions) adapted to act upon the thick mass of material including the band, border, and body fabric, and upon the relatively thin material of the borderrespectively. If desired, the border-engaging blade or blade portion may be omitted and thetucking operation confined to the band and. the material directly beneath it. 7

In the accompanying drawing wherein certain desirable embodiments of the invention are shown by way of example:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view, to small scale, illustrating the corner of a curtain formed of dotted material and embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a section to large scale substantially onthe line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section to large scale substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 1; V

Fig. 4 is a fragn'ientary more or less diagrammatic elevation showing a portion of a sewing machine and attachments appropriate for producing; the curtain herein described;

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of a hemmer device useful in folding; the band;

Fi 6 is a section substantiall on the line (3-43 of Fig. 5 showing the hcmmer right side-up;

Fig. is a fragmentary transverse section of a second bemmer (aGVlCQ useful in hemmin the border material and. in assembling the latter with the band;

8 is a fragmentary plan view of the tucking device showing the two-part blade;

Fl 9 is a frag'n'ientary plan view showing a modified curtain construction; and

Fig. 10 is a bottom view of the curtain shown in Fig. 9.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates the body portion of the curtain and the numeral 2 indicates the border, shown in Fig. 1 as a rufiie. The edge of the. body portion 1 is folded upon itself, as shown at 3 (Fig. 3), to form a two-ply hem structure, while the border material 2 preferably is folded at the points 4.- and 5, respectively (Fig. 3), to form a three-ply hem structure, the hem structure of the border being superposed upon the hem structure of the body portion. j

Above the folded hem of the border I arrange a band 6 which may consist of ribbon, tape, or a narrow strip of any other suitable material, and ifthis band material has raw edges, it is preferably folded at 7 and 8 (Fig. 3) to form marginal hems which overlie the hem structures of the body material and border. The several parts are secured by substantially parallel sewed scams 9 and 10. The band 6 and preferably the underlying hem portion of the border material are formed into regular tucks or pleats 12, the tucks being held in position by the scams 9 and 10. Thus if the material of the body 1 and/or of the border 2 is provided with ornamental dots 11 constituting thickened areas of the fabric, such dots are wholly concealed by the strip 6, which serves to cover the junction of the body and border fabric and which is adapted to be tucked evenly and regularly, whereas dotted material, when subjected to the tucking operation, forms irregularities producing an unpleasing and unfinished ap pearance. By imparting a tucked form to the strip 6, its elfective thickness and opacity are increased so that it conceals thej'unction of the border and body materials, at the same time forming anvopaque area which sets off the border from the bot y. If desired, this band 6 may be of material of a color which contrasts with that of the body and border, although this isnot essential.

In producing this improved construction I may employ apparatus such as illustrated, for example, in Figs. 4 to 8 inclusive. Referring to these figures,-the numeral 13 designates a portion of the head of a sewing machine of any usual type, such head guiding the needle bar 14, which is adapted to carry two or more needles, and also supporting the presser foot 15 which is adapted to hold the work downagainst the work-rest 16. The

head 13 also supports bracket 17 adapted to carry a roll 18 of the material o adapted to form the band 6, while the head 13 also carries a bracket 20 for supporting the hemming devices. A rocker arm 21 actuated from some suitable part of the sewing machine operates the tucking devices, hereinafter referred to. v

The strip material 6 is first led through material, being lower than the other edge.

The border material 2 is also fed into this hemmer 24, which first forms the fold at 5 and subsequently the fold at 4. From inspection of Fig. 7, it will be noted that the fold 7 ofthe strip material 6* is disposed laterally of the fold 4 during the passage of the material through the hemmer 24:.

As the material emerges from the hemmer 24, the folds 7 and 4 of the strip material 6" and the border portion 2 engage the upstanding guide flange 27 of the tucking mechanism, which crowds the fold 7 to the right and the accurate registry of the folds 7 and 4 as they approach the needles is thus assured. The tucking device preferably comprises a reciprocating blade 28 of resilient material slit longitudinally to provide the two effective blade portions 29 and 30, respectively. The portion 29 acts uponthe folded margin of the border material 2 and preferably upon the band material 6 to form regular uniform tricks in these materials, while the blade portion 30 acts upon the thin single ply of the border material 2 at one side of the band 6. The border material is thus thrown into rufiles by the concomitant action of the blade portions 29 and 30, while the band material t5 is formed into regular and uniform tucks which enclose portions of the border material,-as shown in Fig. 2. Under some circumstances the bladeportion 30 may be dispensed with, although this is desirable in securing regularity of the rufiied effect in the border material.

In Figs. 9 and 10 I have illustrated a modified arrangement of the curtain structure in which the body portion 31 and the border portion 32 are overlapped and the junction between them covered by the tucked strip 33, the several parts being held together by the sewed seams 9 and 10. In this arrangement the border material 32 is not ruflied and need not be caught within the tucks of the band material 33. I This produces a junction between the parts which is somewhat thinner than that produced by the aforesaid method and leaves. a flat nnrulfled border, although the tucked band 33 effectively conceals the junction between the body and border in the same way as the band 6 in the construction previously described.

Obviously various changes in detail and its in relative arrangement of parts may be made within the scope of the invention.

1' claim:

1. A curtain having a body portion and a ruiile each having a multi-ply hem, means uniting the hems of the body portion and rufiie, and a substantially straight band of material superposed upon the junction of the body portion and rutlle, said band being regularly tucked to increase its thickness and opacity.

3. In a curtain having a body portion and r a ruffle, the latter at least being of a fabric ornamented by relatively thick dot-s; a substantially straight band covering and concealing the junction of the body and rulile,

and spaced sewed seams uniting the body, ruffle and band, said band having its edges folded under and comprising a series of regularly disposed tucks operative to conceal irregularities in thickness in the junction of the border and rufiie occasioned by inclusion in said junction of dots of the rufile material.

4. In a curtain having a body portion and a ruflie each formed of fabric ornamented by relatively thick areas; a substantially straight band covering and concealing the junction of the body and rul'l'ie, and a pair of spaced parallel sewed seams uniting the body, rulile and band, the band comprising tucks operative to conceal the junction of the band and rul'lle, the tucks being regularly arranged irrespective of the inclusion of thickened areas of the body and ruflie at their junction.

5. A curtain having a body portion and a border, parallel sewed seams joining the body and border, and a band of material independent oi the body and border united thereto by said seams, said band and the underlying portions of the'border comprising regularly disposed tucks operative to increase the cliecive thickness of the material as well as its opacity, whereby to conceal and finish the junction of the body and border.

6. A curtain having a body portion and a rufile, parallel sewed seams joining the body and ruffle, and a band of material independent of the body and ruiile united thereto by said seams, said band overlying the ruffle and the'band and indie together being regularly tucked, tucks of the band material enclosing portions of the tucked border material.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts this 24th day of June 1932.

HERBERT THORNE. 

